Members of the ODYSSEY Media Group, including the production class, Journalism I class and members of the iliad Literary-Art magazine, pose for a picture during the 2023 Southern Interscholastic Press Association’s “Process over Product” convention on March 3. During the convention, OMG students had the opportunity to attend educational sessions, participate in competitions and collaborate in ways they are often unable to do back home. “I have absolutely loved coming to SIPA. It’s been really cool to get to know everybody better, especially all of the Journalism I students. They’re all super cool and it’s been very fun interacting with them outside of the classroom,” Editor-in-Chief Molly Harwell said. Photo by Thatcher Rotenberry
Clarke Central High School students traveled to the Southern Interscholastic Scholastic Press Association convention in Columbia, S.C. from March 3-5.
Over the course of three days, 300 students from six schools across the South came to attend the Southern Interscholastic Scholastic Press Association’s “Process over Product” convention in Columbia, South Carolina.
Among that group were 34 Clarke Central High School students from the ODYSSEY Media Group — including the Production class, Journalism I class and iliad Literary-Art Magazine.
Preconvention classes kicked off at 1:30 pm on March 3, with courses including podcasting, photography, design, storytelling, and an editorial leadership course led by OMG adviser David Ragsdale. Along with students from Kentucky, North Carolina and Georgia, OMG Editor-at-Large Nico Willman attended the class.
“I’ve been to many leadership sessions, but Mr. Ragsdale’s session is the only session that leans heavy into collaboration and conversation between leaders from different publications,” Willman said. “Plus, it’s always refreshing to check in on your leadership style and capabilities, to take a moment and reflect on how you lead and how you could improve.”
To start the official convention, staffers attended a keynote speech by award-winning writer and instructor Bobby Hawthorne. Hawthorne’s session focused on the importance of voice and narrative in storytelling. OMG News Staffer Mykolas Kumpis, a senior and first-year SIPA attendee, feels he is connected with Hawthorne’s creative storytelling.
“The lessons I learned in storytelling and descriptive writing from him were really impactful, and I’ll be trying my best to apply them to my work moving forward,” Kumpis said.
Award-winning writer and instructor Bobby Hawthrone delivers the keynote speech at the Southern Interscholastic Press Association’s “Process over Product” convention on March 3. For first-year News Staffer Mykolas Kumpis, a senior, Hawthorne’s presence at the convention was the weekend’s highlight. “I was really impressed by Bobby Hawthorne, his speech, and the powerful delivery of his stories,” Kumpis said. “He has a remarkable ability to turn ordinary, everyday things and experiences into stories that are truly special.” Photo by Izzy Duncan
After the keynote session, multiple OMG members presented sessions, including Social Media Staffer Isabelle Duncan and Director of Audience Engagement Aza Khan, who presented the session, “How to Social Media in 2023.” In addition, Viewpoints Editor Jane Ripps and Variety Staffer Miles Lawrence presented the session “Going Below the Surface.”
“I was definitely stressing before the presentation with Aza just because I’ve never presented before, but honestly, it went really great,” Duncan said. “We had a lot of interactive points and it seemed like a lot of people enjoyed it, because we had a bunch of people in our presentation.”
Four CCHS teams competed in the SIPA Quiz Bowl, a competition between publications over questions on Associated Press style, current events, and politics, qualifying round. Competitors included Wyatt Meyer, Maya Clement, Janie Ripps, Maya Shrivastav, Adah Hamman, Molly Harwell, Willman, Kumpis, Isabella Westrich, Cadence Schapker, Anna Shaikun, Lucas Donnelly, Aza Khan, Salai Diekumpuna, Audrey St. Onge, and Luke Shannon.
The second day of the convention began with Khan, the OMG Director of Audience Engagement and a CCHS junior, being named as SIPA’s sole candidate for President. Khan presented her platform to those in attendance.
“Being named SIPA President following my mentor Lucas Donnelly was special to me. He laid a great foundation and I intend to build on it to engage in increased diversity, equity and inclusion through SIPA’s programming,” Khan said.
Following Khan’s speech, attendees reconvened for instructional sessions, including “How to Play a Great Game,” presented by Donnelly, OMG Visuals Coordinator and SIPA President, and Meyer, OMG Sports Editor and a first-time presenter.
“Presenting was a pretty good experience. I had never done that before, so I didn’t really know what to expect. Lucas helped me walk us through it,” Meyer said. “Lucas was sort of my journalistic muse. He’s done this before, he’s presented, so he knew what to expect. He knew the right level of preparation. He knew what he wanted to say and expressed a clear vision that I could follow.”
Day Two also presented staffers with the opportunity to compete in various on-site competitions, including a Grammar Challenge and the Team On-Site Production (TOP) competitions in photography, newspaper and broadcast. Clement, OMG Managing Editor, her participation in newsprint TOP was a learning experience.
“It wasn’t the best story we’ve ever created, but I think the main thing we got from it was a sense of team building and being able to work together,” Clement said. “It was really interesting to learn what everybody’s strengths were and to explore that a little bit more.”
“It wasn’t the best story we’ve ever created, but I think the main thing we got from it was a sense of team building and being able to work together. It was really interesting to learn what everybody’s strengths were and to explore that a little bit more.”
— Maya Clement,
Managing Editor
After the TOP competition closed, all four CCHS Quiz Bowl teams competed, with two teams qualifying for the semifinals on Sunday. For Shaikun, OMG Digital Editor, who competed alongside Donnelly, Schapker, and Westrich as CCHS Team Alpha, advancing to the semifinals was a huge comeback from a poor showing at the National High School Journalism Convention’s Quiz Bowl in Nov. 2022.
“My team at SIPA last year advanced to the second round but not the semifinals, and we didn’t do well at all at NSPA, so I’m glad that we got as far as we did,” Shaikun said. “I don’t think I studied as much as I could have, but I learned more about the type of questions asked and I’m confident I’ll do better next year.”
To start Day Three of the convention, Harwell, OMG Editor-In-Chief, and Clement gave a presentation called “The Ins & Outs of Student Leadership.”
“We had a small crowd but it ended up being really great. I know Maya and I really enjoyed prepping and getting to have the opportunity to present,” Harwell said. “It was really cool and people really seemed to enjoy it.”
Following the morning sessions, the two ODYSSEY Quiz Bowl teams competed in the semifinals, with the CCHS Gold team composed of Meyer, Shrivastav, Ripps and Clement beating Shaikun’s Delta Team by a score of 60-10. The Gold Team faced off against Cedar Shoals High School’s team, which consisted of Aiden Dowling, Gabriel Holcomb, Tumelo Johnson and Marcus Welch, in the final round, falling 30 to 40.
“We pulled through and we got second place all together, so that was great. A bit of a comeback story, we went from last to second. We were definitely kind of nervous about it,” Shrivastav said. “We were just so excited after we made it past that first round, and past the semifinals. There was definitely a lot of team bonding, we got to know everyone better.”
